Editor’s Note: As the nation marks its 250th anniversary, the Dexter Area Historical Society presents a series exploring Dexter’s history within the broader context of state and national events. This second installment looks at Michigan’s path to statehood.
Michigan’s quest for statehood took over four years due to a bitter border dispute with the state of Ohio. In October of 1832, Michigan citizens voted to petition for statehood, but it was not officially granted until January of 1837.
Michigan was part of the Northwest Territory, which was created in 1787 by the Confederation Congress, which governed the country prior to the adoption of the US Constitution. The law was called “An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States North-West of the River Ohio” and described how the western lands acquired from Great Britain after the American Revolution were to be managed…